You can stop spam calls in India with two layers: register your preferences on DND through 1909 or the TRAI DND app, then turn on spam filtering in your phone’s own call app. Together they take about 10 minutes.
DND on its own won’t do the job, though. The government’s own numbers show why, and section 2 explains which calls DND can’t touch.
⚡ Key takeaways
- Register DND by calling or texting 1909, or through the TRAI DND app or your operator’s app. It’s free.
- Report spam within 7 days, through the same channels or the Sanchar Saathi portal. Your complaint counts.
- Most spam comes from unregistered telemarketers using normal 10-digit numbers, which bypass DND. That’s why phone-level filters matter.
- Android: turn on “Filter spam calls” in the Phone app. iPhone: use Call Screening or Silence for unknown callers.
- Genuine promotional calls should come from 140-series numbers, and bank service calls from the 1600 series.
How Bad Spam Calls Have Got in India
If it feels like the loan and credit card calls have doubled, the data agrees. A Press Information Bureau release from February 2026, based on the Communications Minister’s reply in the Rajya Sabha, listed spam complaints month by month for 2025.
Complaints jumped from about 1.48 lakh in January 2025 to about 3.94 lakh in August 2025, then stayed near 3 lakh a month. Those are only the people who bothered to complain.
The same release says that in December 2025, the system blocked more than 7.5 crore SMS and voice calls a day on average, based on customers’ preferences. So DND does block a lot. It just can’t block everything.
Why DND Alone Won’t Stop Spam Calls
Here’s the catch. DND works on registered telemarketers, the ones who use the official system and send promotions from 140-series numbers. The PIB release says most spam complaints are against unregistered telemarketers who use regular 10-digit mobile numbers and skip the system entirely.
Those calls ignore your DND preference. Over a full year, unregistered senders were behind the large majority of complaints in every month of 2025.
So what helps? Two things. Your complaints get the sender’s numbers cut (the release says around 21 lakh connections were disconnected), and your phone’s spam filter stops the calls that slip through.
⚠️ Watch out
Never press a key, share an OTP or “verify KYC” on a call you didn’t expect, even if the caller knows your name and bank. Spam and fraud often come from the same unregistered numbers.
Also readPhone Safety for Parents: 9 Settings to Fix on Your Diwali Visit Step 1: Register DND (Takes 2 Minutes)
You can set your preferences in any of these ways, all listed in the PIB release:
- Call 1909 from your mobile and follow the menu.
- SMS to 1909.
- The TRAI DND app on your phone.
- Your operator’s app or website: look for a DND or “commercial communication preferences” section.
You can block all promotional calls and SMS, or block only some categories, such as real estate or banking, if you still want certain offers.
💡 Pro tip
Use the TRAI DND app rather than SMS if you can. You can see and change your preference in one place, and report spam calls from the same app.
Step 2: Report Spam Within 7 Days
Reporting is what gets numbers disconnected. TRAI’s rules, as amended in February 2025, let you file a complaint within 7 days of the spam call or SMS. Use the TRAI DND app, your operator’s app or website, an SMS or call to 1909, or the Sanchar Saathi portal.
Keep it simple: the number, the date and time, and a line on what the call was about. A screenshot of the call log helps.
| Channel | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| TRAI DND app | Registering and reporting | Preferences and complaints in one app |
| Operator app or website | Jio, Airtel, Vi, BSNL users | Look for DND or preferences |
| Call or SMS 1909 | Anyone, any phone | Works on feature phones too |
| Sanchar Saathi portal | Reporting suspected fraud | Run by the Department of Telecommunications |
Step 3: Filter Spam Calls on Android
Most Android phones in India use Google’s Phone app (Pixel, Motorola, Nokia, many others). Google’s help page says caller ID and spam protection is on by default.
Turn on spam filtering
- Open the Phone app and tap More options (three dots), then Settings.
- Tap Caller ID and spam (on some phones, Spam and Call Screen).
- Turn on Filter spam calls.
Filtered calls don’t ring and don’t show missed-call alerts, but they stay in your call history. On phones with automatic Call Screen, Google says spam blocking sits inside Call Screen’s options.
Block and report a number
Tap the call in your call history, then Block or Report spam. Google says this stops more calls from that number and reports the spammer.
Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo phones have their own Phone apps with similar spam and block settings, usually under the Phone app’s settings.
Step 4: Screen or Silence Unknown Callers on iPhone
Apple’s iPhone User Guide has three options under Settings > Apps > Phone:
- Ask Reason for Calling: iPhone answers unknown numbers first, asks the caller’s name and reason, then rings and shows you the answer.
- Silence: calls from unsaved numbers go to voicemail and show up in Recents.
- Spam: calls your carrier flags as potential spam or fraud are silenced and moved to a Spam list.
To block one number, open the Phone app, tap the contact, then Block Contact. You can also turn on Call Blocking & Identification apps in the same Phone settings.
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TRAI has given commercial calls their own number series, which makes spotting spam easier:
- 140-series numbers: promotional calls from registered telemarketers. Annoying, but legitimate. DND blocks them.
- 1600-series numbers: service and transactional calls from banks and the financial sector, according to the PIB release.
- A normal 10-digit mobile number selling loans, credit cards or “KYC updates”: treat it as spam, and be extra careful if it asks for any details.
Our guide to the SBI data breach claim explains why leaked phone numbers lead to more targeted calls, and what to do about them.
✅ Our verdict
Register DND today, but don’t expect it to fix everything. Turn on your phone’s spam filter or iPhone’s call screening, and report every spam call within 7 days. Ten minutes now, and two taps per spam call after that, cut the noise noticeably.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I stop spam calls on my mobile in India?
Register DND by calling or texting 1909, or with the TRAI DND app. Then turn on spam filtering in your phone app: “Filter spam calls” on Android, or Call Screening or Silence for unknown callers on iPhone. Report spam calls within 7 days.
Why am I still getting spam calls after DND?
DND blocks registered telemarketers. The government says most spam comes from unregistered telemarketers using regular 10-digit numbers, which bypass DND. Phone-level spam filters and complaints help with those.
How do I complain about a spam call?
Within 7 days, use the TRAI DND app, your operator’s app or website, an SMS or call to 1909, or the Sanchar Saathi portal. Include the number, date and time.
What is the 1600 number series?
TRAI has prescribed the 1600 series for service and transactional calls from the financial sector, so you can tell a genuine bank call from a random number.
The Bottom Line
To stop spam calls, use DND and your phone’s own filter together, and report the ones that slip through. Set it up on your parents’ phones too. Our phone safety guide for parents walks through the other settings worth changing on their phones.
Keep reading
Read nextPhone Safety for Parents: 9 Settings to Fix on Your Diwali Visit
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Read nextSBI Data Breach Claim: 8 Steps to Protect Your Account NowSources
- PIB / Department of Telecommunications: DoT and TRAI action on spam calls and SMS (5 Feb 2026)
- Google Phone Help: See caller ID and spam protection
- Apple iPhone User Guide (India): Screen and block calls
- Sanchar Saathi, Department of Telecommunications